From sausage to 'hot dog'!

Look no further than my pudgy miniature wiener dog, Zoe, who is making excellent progress as part of the Fit Pet Project, our monthly series examining the global epidemic of overweight and obese pets.

When she was first placed on a prescription diet and exercise program in January, Zoe tipped the scales at a hefty 8.6 kg (19 lbs), when the breed standard says she should be 5.4 kg (12 lbs) at most.

At her next checkup in mid-February, she was down 450 grams, even though the initial goal wasn't so much shedding weight as it was getting her system used to a new, calorie-reduced kibble.

On March 13, she was down just over another half pound, which is on target for a healthy, controlled weight loss. "She's lost another 3.6 per cent of her body weight and she's down, since we started on Jan. 22, a total of 1.55 pounds, or approximately eight per cent of her body weight," says our vet, Dr. Jim Broughton.

"I'm very happy with that. The amount of weight she's lost is equivalent to a 200-pound man losing 16 pounds. That's a significant amount of weight in a little dog. She's doing great."

Broughton says it's important for a pet on a new diet to be weighed frequently, in order to adjust its feeding based on its lower weight and reduced body fat.

Our unofficial Fit Pet "spokesdog" has now had her daily intake reduced from one cup of dry kibble a day to seven-eighths of a cup, coupled with all the carrot sticks she wants.

Our vet stresses the hardest part of a pet's diet and exercise plan comes at the start. "The beginning is when the owner's habits have to change," he says. "After a few weeks, we realize, 'Hey, I can do this.' It's like when you start jogging; the first few days are tough to get out of bed."

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But that is about to change, because Eddie is the star subject in a unique weight-loss experiment now under way at Tuxedo Animal Hospital on Corydon Avenue.

Eddie's journey to better health began when Free Press deputy editor Julie Carl asked her veterinarian, Dr. Pat Dorval, a partner at the clinic, whether she knew a fat cat we could feature in the Fit Pet Project, our once-a-month series on the issues surrounding a growing epidemic of portly pets.

Dorval turned to Quagga Stray Cat Rescue on St. Mary's Road in St. Vital and -- presto! -- Eddie, a nine-year-old domestic, short-haired, grey-brown tabby became the newest -- and largest -- cat in residence at the Tuxedo clinic.

It would have been impossible to put an individual cat on a diet at the busy no-kill shelter. "It's a free-for-all there," the vet said when a Free Press crew showed up to meet Eddie on St. Patrick's Day. "They (the shelter cats) just eat when they want."

The clinic's goal is to see how much weight a cat can safely lose in a controlled environment over a single month, then use the lessons they learn to help other overweight feline clients shed unwanted pounds in a healthy manner. They also hope to find a loving home for their star patient.

"It's like a reality-show challenge -- Tuxedo Animal Hospital's Biggest Loser," Dorval jokes as Eddie slowly stretches out on an exam room table. "We want to see how much weight he can lose and how much better we can make him feel, because he's too heavy.

"I think we'd like to learn from it. We can monitor his weight loss on a daily basis. We set a date of a month to see what we can accomplish in that time. We rarely get a chance to do something like this.

"We know we can't get him to an ideal weight in a month, but we want to see if we can make some headway."

When Eddie arrived, he was given a full physical, which ensured he had no underlying medical condition to explain his obesity. An ideal weight for a tabby like Eddie would be closer to 6.5 kg (14 lbs).

"Some big cats should weight closer to 18 or 20 pounds, but not a normal house cat like Eddie," the vet explains.

On Day 4 of the experiment, when the Free Press drops in, Eddie is already a marginally smaller version of himself.

The goal for an overweight cat like Eddie is to lose about 225 grams to 450 grams (half a pound to a pound) per month.

While Eddie is the first fat cat to remain at the clinic for an extended weight-loss experiment, he's far from the only one to shamble through the doors.

"It's very common," Dorval says. "At least 40 per cent of our feline patients are overweight. We see more obesity in cats than we do in dogs now. About 20 to 30 per cent of the dogs we see are overweight. I think with dogs it's easier to exercise them and people notice obesity on their dogs more."

Being overweight leaves pets open to a host of debilitating diseases. "People are not very knowledgeable about the ramifications of an obese pet," Alexis Betker, an animal-health technologist at the clinic, warns. "There's so many diseases they can get. They think it (being pudgy) is cute."

Says Dorval: "The main problems with cats being obese are diabetes, constipation, mobility problems and a big one is personal hygiene; they can't clean themselves."

Step 1 in Eddie's health makeover is a prescription diet. "He has, through his life, eaten mostly dry kibble," the vet says, stroking the tabby's hefty belly. "While he's here, he's being fed a canned diet food. We figured out how many calories he should get a day -- 178 calories." (That's about the number of calories in a 156-gram can.)

Want your cat to lose weight? It's essential to feed them wet food because it's lower in calories and higher in protein. "Diet is the main thing," the vet stresses. "He (Eddie) is getting a measured amount of canned metabolic food a day. It (wet food) more closely simulates what a cat in nature would eat. Cats are carnivores. They don't naturally eat plant-based protein, but a dog is an omnivore, like humans, and can eat anything."

Exercise is part of the prescription, but Dorval, and our other experts, agree it's tougher to exercise a cat than a dog.

As for Eddie's weight-loss journey, we'll be checking back on him soon. When he's finished the month-long experiment, this slimmed-down cat will be available for adoption. Trust me, he'll inspire any would-be owner's quest for better health.

"He's very laid-back, very affectionate, very much a people cat," Dorval says as she stroked Eddie's fur. "He doesn't have a mean bone in his body."

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All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.